Saturday after Theophany; Synaxis of St John the Baptist

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples.

²He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said to him, “No, we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

³He said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”

⁴Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus.”

⁵When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke with other languages and prophesied. ⁷They were about twelve men in all.

⁸He entered into the synagogue and spoke boldly for a period of three months, reasoning and persuading about the things concerning God’s Kingdom.

The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.’ ³¹I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water, that he would be revealed to Israel.” ³²John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. ³³I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴I have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”